Healthcare News

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital have discovered a gene mutation that slows the metabolism of sugar in the gut, giving people who have the mutation a distinct advantage over those who do not. Those with the mutation have a lower risk of diabetes, obesity, heart failure, and even death.

A simple instruction to change your thinking as mealtime approaches can help cut calories, according to new research. By encouraging study participants to concentrate on different types of information when planning their meal, the experimenters saw portion sizes shift.

Overweight and obese individuals with knee osteoarthritis can reduce pain and significantly improve function and mobility with weight loss. New research reveals that a 20% or more weight loss has the added benefit of continued improvement in physical health-related quality of life along with an additional 25% reduction in pain and improvement in function.

The majority of people with severe obesity have a lonely and prolonged struggle with their weight. In one study spanning more than 10 years, 83 percent report that they constantly strive to lose weight or prevent weight gain.

New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Vienna, Austria (23-26) May shows that weight reduction following a sleeve gastrectomy (obesity surgery), which reduces the size of the stomach, can rapidly reverse obesity-related hypogonadism in morbidly obese men, restoring normal levels of testosterone and sex drive.